Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Thetford

The ruins of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Thetford are the only remains of this order in the country. During the medieval period there were six such houses in the country. The priory, followed an order with origins in Jerusalem whose purpose was to aid pilgrims who wished to visit the tomb of Christ.

The priory was founded in 1148 by William de Warenne, who also founded the Cluniac community at Castle Acre.

The community at Thetford was never very wealthy and at it's height was home to just eight canons.

The community fell victim to the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536 at which time it was converted and used a barn, evidence of which can still be seen today in the form of a bricked up door way set in the south wall.

The priory site now

Very little is left of the complex today apart from the walls of the nave some of which are almost at roof height. The rest of the complex was demolished. The ruins are grade 1 listed.

My feelings

As I wandered around this small site I got a pleasant feeling of how this once small community felt how they were doing the work of God through providing assistance to pilgrims. From what is left of the complex it is also easy to see how this was never a very wealthy monastery as the over size of the building is very small yet this did not deter from the work they conducted.

Information on this page has been adapted from information available at www.english-heritage.org.uk

Thetford Priory Gatehouse

I have visited the priory at Thetford once before back in September 2013 and have made an entry about it which you can read here. 

During my initial visit I noticed a small gate to one side of the site near to the nave of the priory buildings. The gate which was padlocked shut, was set into a low wire fence and had a little signed saying 'This way to the gatehouse' painted on it. I wanted to investigate on my first visit but as mentioned above it was unfortunately locked shut.

However during my second visit a couple of weeks ago I found the gate to be unlocked. This time I noticed a second sign informing me that the pathway was open to visitors to the gatehouse, but no exit from the site could be made this way. I noticed as I walked along the path that I was in fact walking through the front garden of 'Abbey House' which is a private residence. I was greeted by a dog and a gentleman who said hello and not to worry about the dog, she is very friendly really. I thanked him and said hello in return. He went on about his business in his garden. 

I approached the gatehouse and was pleased that I had plucked up the courage to walk through, even though I had permission to be there I felt as though I was being intrusive.

The gatehouse today is a grade 1 listed ruin and is still fairly intact yet is missing some of its features such as inner walls, floors and roof. It is clear to see from the flint work and stone dressings that this gatehouse was a grand building and would have provided a impressive entrance to visitors and impressive sight to those who lived in the town. The upper levels of which the gatehouse had two, were used to receive rents. These floors were accessible using the staircase located in one of the buttresses. Evidence of the stairs is visible even though the stairs have seen eroded away.

While most of the priory precinct wall has disappeared or been demolished some still remains and evidence of a barn can be seen on the outside of the gatehouse in the form of a V which formed the joint with the barn roof.

I would recommend a visit to the priory and to the gatehouse as even though the gatehouse is mainly a shell now it is still an impressive sight to behold and will have you in awe over how the medieval craftsman ship created a lasting building almost 800 years on.

Background information and reading credited to English Heritage available at www.english-heritage.org.uk

Creake Abbey

I recently visited Creake Abbey a short drive up the road from North Creake, not far from Fakenham in North West Norfolk. I had visited this site once before and while some of the former monastery buildings and site has since been developed into private residences, it felt oddly strange and eerie as though I was being watched. 

However this time I did not get this feeling, yet it was replaced with another feeling, a feeling of sadness. Now this could be due to the information I had read about the site before hand so I am not saying that I experienced anything paranormal. I owe these feelings to its history and that fact that during 1484 Creake abbey was destroyed after a tragic fire reduced it to nothing more than a large church in physical size. The community at Creake Abbey was wiped out canon by canon until in 1506 the last member of the community the Abbot himself died from the plague.

A little history of Creake Abbey

Creake Abbey went from strength to strength starting life as a small chapel which grew into a hospital and priory. Sir Robert de Narford funded the chapel of St Mary of the Meadows to be built and later extended to become the hospital and priory of St Bartholomew. At this point we know the canons began to follow the rule of St Augustine. 

The priory began to prosper with donations from many generous benefactors such as King Henry III by bestowing the title of abbey onto the complex in 1225. However the canons were unaware that this prosperity would not last and in 1484 tragedy befell that abbey when it was gutted by a fire which ripped through the building reducing the complex to a mere shell of it former glory. Requests were made to fund the rebuilding programme at the site. King Richard III made donations yet these were not enough to rebuild its prosperity especially when further tragedy fell on the abbey in 1506. One by one the canons died from the plague with the abbot being the final inhabitant left also died from the plague in 1506

My feelings on the site

As I strolled around the site I found it tranquil yet also a feeling of sadness fell over me which as I mentioned earlier I attributed to the information I read on the boards dotted around. I got a sense of the 'good' Sir Robert and Lady Alice tried to accomplish by founding this abbey and hospital and also the glory that this site must of radiated in its heyday. 

However a feeling of uncertainty flooded me as I approached some of the original features due to their new and current use. In the photos below you will see the piscinas that were once used to wash the vessels used in daily services are now filled with 'offerings' such as candles, Christian psalms and texts along with stones scribed with messages such as 'RIP Uncle.' I found this to be comforting that people are still using the site as a place of remembrance but also oddly strange as both times I have visited I have been the only person there. 

I would certainly recommend a visit to the site to see what feelings you receive from such as place and while you are there use the benches dotted about to pause and reflect and take in the beauty of nature around you, listening to the birds singing as they wing about in the sky.

Just around the corner is a delightful cafe and craft shops which are also well worth a visit.

Background research and reading credited to English Heritage available at www.english-heritage.org.uk